Whizzing on the Wirral

We journeyed up to the Paradise Peninsula (aka the Wirral) the weekend before I reached the ripe old pensionable age of 33. Our time in the North West veered between cooing at babies and binging so heavily that we were still supping on a 40 quid bottle of white wine come 8am on Sunday morning. Oh yes. Age may be coming for us but that doesn't mean you go home rather than going hard. You just pay for it for days afterwards. Days and days. But the best bits of our jaunt were numerous; frolicks with a baby, digging into a Wetherspoons platter with absolutely no nutritional value and attending a charity gig which turned into an unexpected total all nighter. I spent the last day as a 32 year old rushing and drink M&S lager. How gourmet...

tomato on the tracks

a meal with 3,000 calories in it

How civilised

Sausage face

Small fries

Bit David Lynch

The blue grass  outfit

More dancing to bluegrass

Impromptu cheese binge in Marks

Hackney carnival all up inside the place

Notting Hill Carnival is the big street jam of the year but other London boroughs are also getting in on the act and ramping up their vibe. This year we stuck our toe into the Hackney Carnival for the first time and guess what? The toe came back well fresh mate. It was well good sneaking out our front door feeling slightly hungover, para and edgy to be confronted by steel bands, outlandish attire and beaming smiles. It usually involves a trip over west London to get the same hit and the journey back always feels like you're attempting to traverse thousands of miles blind drunk.

The parade itself was a total vibe but one of the highlights was a certain steel band playing on the back of a float. They refused to stop when the coppers asked them to and provoked some of the most outlandish dancing the streets have ever seen from trendy, white dudes. One fella was flayling his limbs round like an octopus being put down. It was a truly intoxicating and intoxicated move.

The parade

Our favourite steel band

Nice spot of shit faced moves

The octopus man is in the blue shirt... 

Carnival